Under The Mistletoe
by fabianrutter
Summary: In penance for leaving us with cliffhangers, each housemate shall offer up their lips in public Displays of Affection. These tributes shall be delivered to the custody of Katie, then transferred to a slightly AU household, where they will kiss to uphold Jerome's aspiration to wreak havoc at Anubis. Henceforth and forevermore this pageant shall be known as The Mistletoe Games. -RD
1. House of Mistletoes

This story is set to run from today until New Years Eve with approximately 9-10 chapters. Outfits for "Under The Mistletoe" will be put up on my profile soon.

I don't own House of Anubis.

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><p>As the winter holidays hurtled forward, things in Anubis house seemed to be going smoothly. That is, until Trudy began to decorate for the holidays.<p>

"What is _that?_" Jerome asked as all the students walked through the doors of Anubis House after school, looking at what Trudy was hanging from the chandelier.

"It's a mistletoe, dearie," Trudy smiled her warm, inviting smile. Everyone stopped in their tracks, ensuring they wouldn't go under it.

"Well why are you putting it up?" he looked a bit astounded. He found the idea of a mistletoe in the house terrible, seeing he could mistakenly end up under it with unwanted company.

"Holiday spirit," Trudy chuckled at the question. Climbing down the latter she stood upon to hang it, Mick spoke up.

"You've never had it up before, Trudes..." Mick said, just to have Trudy brush away the comment. The truth was, she put it up because she found the residents old enough. But she wasn't about the tell them that.

Childishly, the house inhabitants gawked over the small decoration after Trudy left the room, then being careful to walk one at a time through the entryway.

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><p>~Fabian's POV~<p>

"But _why_ would she put one up?" Mick asked as we sat in our room, Mick laying on his bed and tossing his football up in the air while I worked on my homework. "And right after Mara and I split?" he added, anger and sadness mixed together in his tone.

"No clue," I murmured, only half paying attention as I looked down at my notebook, pretending I actually cared about the homework assignment.

What I was really thinking about was the mistletoe, like everyone else in the house...and then about Nina...

I knew if I were to be under the mistletoe with anyone, I'd have liked it to be Nina...but it just felt...weird...to even consider such a notion. I mean, yeah, Nina and I kissed that one time last year. But I felt like it was a more "spur of the moment" sort of deal, seeing we'd nearly died an hour earlier. Everything that day had moved so quickly, and now time had slowed down...but to do what, I didn't know.

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><p>~Jerome's POV~<p>

"Who're you gonna get under the mistletoe?" Alfie asked rather intently as we sat in the living room.

"I'm planning on avoiding it, not getting anyone under it," I said frankly.

"I'm gonna get Ams," Alfie sighed happily, a foolish grin etched into his face.

"Good luck with that," I chuckled to myself. The thought of Alfie and Barbie under the mistletoe was, to me, absurd.

"It'll happen," Alfie waggled a finger in my direction. "Just watch."

"Okay," I shook my head with a sighed grin at my poor fool of a best friend.

"So, how long do you think until Nina and Fabian get under the mistletoe?"

"Not too long if Amber has anything to do with it..." I said, stretching back on the couch I resided on, my arms folded behind my head.

"True," Alfie said, staring off into deep thought...or, as deep a thought as Alfie could reach, anyways.

Thinking about the mistletoe, my mind wandered to Mara. She'd just broken up with Meathead a few weeks ago, and since then, we'd become closer, like we were when Campbell was at his sports camp or whatever it was he went to.

Slowly, an image of Mara and I with locked lips under the mistletoe crept into my mind. I pictured it for a brief second with a smile before abruptly shaking the notion out of my head.

After thinking about it, I came to a conclusion. This mistletoe was going to cause much more trouble than it was worth.

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><p>~Nina's POV~<p>

"Aren't you so excited?" Amber said happily as we both finished our homework.

"For...?" I questioned.

"Winter! It's the most wonderful time of the year, you know," Amber giggled.

"Oh, yes," I smiled. I really did love winter. And this year, my Gran would be coming to England and staying near by Anubis House so we could spend the holiday together and I could still spend it here with my friends.

"With all the snow, and baking, and warm fires in the fire place...and Christmas..." Amber sighed happily, gazing off as she day dreamed.

"Do you all usually stay here for the holidays?" I asked, curling my arms around my knees.

"Sometimes, sometimes not," Amber said. "Jerome nearly _always_ stays, Mara nearly _always_ goes home, and for the rest of us, it really depends. Fabian and Joy go home a lot, too..."

"Oh," I said, my heart falling a bit when I heard Fabian's holiday status.

"But everyone's staying this year up until Christmas Eve, and then, that night, we all go to the school together because they hold a Holiday party," Amber explained. "Not all of us celebrate Christmas, but it's fun.

"Really?"

"Mhm. We all dress up in nice clothes and go and there's a bit of a dance type thing and they play holiday music and it's just really fun."

"Interesting," I smiled. My thoughts buzzed around thinking about Christmas and just winter in general. I had a feeling this winter was going to be the best by far...

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><p>AN: So, there you go. Chapter one. It'll get better, trust me, I know exactly what to do in upcoming chapters, I'm just really bad with starters.

Please leave a few reviews!

**_If I don't get at least 5 reviews, I won't continue._**


	2. House of Mistakes

I'm literally in shock...thank you sooooo much to the 29 who reviewed!

The outfits for "Under The Mistletoe" are now on my profile. I may occasionally put up random outfits for certain chapters just because I want an excuse to actually do something semi-productive on Polyvore.

**_This chapter is dedicated to Ducky (rducky) due to content and Sara (LittleMissPotterHead) for helping me out with it :)_**

**_*I'm aware that cookies, except chocolate chip cookies, aren't called cookies in England [well, according to a British FF author I read...]. But the part mentioning cookies is in Nina's POV. Nina's American, therefore, they are cookies. Not whatever else they're called._**

I don't own House of Anubis.

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><p>~Omniscient POV~<p>

_And so the games begin..._ Jerome schemed that night while laying in bed. While he planned to avoid the mistletoe, he found it a good idea to see his housemates _didn't. _

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><p>~Next Morning~<p>

"So, you all know the rules, correct?" Jerome asked, lifting another fork full of pancakes into his mouth as he inquired about everyone's knowledge of the mistletoe tradition.

"Mhm," they all murmured with pancake-filled mouths.

"Now, what do you lot say to making this a bit more interesting? Sort of...a game?" Jerome waggled his eyebrows fiendishly.

"No," Fabian said immediately. Thoughts whirled in his head about ending up under it by accident with someone like Mara or even Alfie, seeing Jerome could really have anything hidden up his sleeve. He knew the only person he'd be comfortable with was Nina. But at the same time, he knew he'd clam up if it was and chicken out then look like a fool.

"Aw, c'mon, Fabian," Jerome groaned. "Why be such a killjoy?"

"Ehem," Joy glared.

"Sorry..." Jerome rolled his eyes. "Why be such a prick?" Jerome asked. He then looked at Joy, "Better?"

"Yes," She she said stiffly.

"Because whenever you "make something interesting", it's only amusing to you and Alfie," Fabian said.

"Oh, but trust me, this will be fun for _everyone_..." Jerome smirked devilishly.

"Sure..." Fabian sighed, looking down at his plate. By the tone of Jerome's voice, he was sure it wouldn't be.

Breakfast passed by, Jerome explaining the "rules" of the mistletoe game he'd planned. If you got under the mistletoe, you _had_ to comply with the tradition and kiss whoever was under it with you at the time being. An additional rule he tacked on was that the kiss had to be a minimum of five seconds.

"Jerome, if this is your way of trying to kiss Mara under the mistletoe, it won't work," Patricia scoffed as Mara and Jerome nearly spit out the remainder of their breakfasts.

"That's absurd, Patricia!" Mara exclaimed.

"That's utterly disgusting," both Mick and Jerome said, Mick scowling while Jerome rolled his eyes, trying to hide his embarrassment.

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><p>Nina and Amber had already walked over to school, and everyone else was making their way out. Patricia, one of the last three, stood down stairs waiting for Joy. She figured she was out of mistletoe range, but she was sadly mistaken.<p>

Fabian came stumbling through the entry way, a mountain of books hiding his view. He crashed over, falling to the ground with a loud _THUD! _Patricia fell with him

"Oh God..." Patricia muttered from under him as she looked up.

"Oh!" a small yelp came from the top of the stairs, then giggling. A mortified Fabian and Patricia turned their heads to see Joy it a fit of giggles at the banister.

"Well, go on then," she managed through her laughter.

"Uh..." Fabian quickly stood up, as did Patricia. They stood there for a moment, and awkward silence absorbing them. Fabian quickly leaned in, rather lightly.

_One, two, three, four, five!_ he counted in his head. Right as he was about to pull away, he felt something poking at the slip between his two lips. It was soft and wet. As it navigated it's way farther, he only stood there. Paralyzed. He wanted so badly to pull away. But again, this was something all new to him. He stood there. And let it happen.

_Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen..._

"Victor alert!" Joy, who was now standing at the landing, hissed. Patricia and Fabian ripped apart, then running out of the door with Joy bringing up the rear.

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><p>"What," Joy started with a smirk as she and Patricia walked to school, Fabian far, far ahead of them, "was <em>that?"<em>

"Uh..." Patricia looked away. "Nothing...nothing. Let's get to first class before we're late!" she took off running again, leaving Joy to catch up.

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><p>~Nina's POV~<p>

"Hello dearies," Trudy said to Fabian and I as we sat in Fabian's room doing homework.

"Hey Trudy," I smiled. Fabian gave her a small wave but looked back down at his assignment. He'd been acting rather odd all day...

"Would you two care to help with some of the holiday baking?" Trudy asked sweetly.

"Uh, sure!" I said, glancing at Fabian.

"Why not," he put his assignment down and smiled a bit. We followed Trudy into the kitchen and both put on aprons, ready to bake whatever Trudy had in store, which turned out to be cut out cookies that we'd end up frosting tomorrow, seeing it was Saturday.

After we got two trays of them into the oven, Trudy went to do a little cleaning. Fabian and I stayed in the kitchen to wait for the oven.

"Nina...could I...tell you something?" Fabian looked nervous.

"Of course," I said, a bit surprised he was even hesitant. We shared everything...well..._almost_ everything...

I moved and stood leaning up against the island so I could face him.

"Today...when...when I was leaving for school...I sort of knocked over Patricia..." he looked down at his shoes. I tried not to giggle. Was he really telling me this? Was he really concerned about this? I found it extremely adorable of him... "But it was under the mistletoe..." I suddenly froze up a bit. "And...well, Joy was there, so it's not like we couldn't...and it was the weirdest thing ever...and I don't think I can even look at her...and just..." Fabian mumbled. A smile crawled onto my face. Why was this laughable? Somebody else kissing Fabian? Usually, I would have gotten extremely jealous...but this...well...I didn't quite know. Something about the whole situation made me smile.

"It'll all be fine," I laughed a bit. I leaned over and hugged him, and against my better judgement, kissed his cheek. With both of us blushing, Fabian smiled a bit. I watched him start to lean in a bit, and I started as well. When we were a mere _centimeter_ away, the timer for the oven went off, startling both of us.

So much for that.

The rest of the evening was uneventful, besides the others occasionally jeering at Fabian and Patricia.

Around eight o'clock, Amber and I were watching a movie on our room on my laptop. Slowly, I noticed the room becoming colder. I look around for my sweater but realized it was nowhere in sight.

It was then I remembered that I'd left it in Fabian's room when I'd taken it off, only leaving the tee shirt I was wearing now for a top.

I told Amber I'd be right back and quickly made my way down to Fabian's room.

When I reached the bottom step, I gazed up at the mistletoe.

This was a mistake I'd regret.

If I'd just looked forward like any normal person, I wouldn't have ended up under the mistletoe with the person I did.

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><p>AN: So yeah, one of the crappiest chapters I've ever written. But I've been under a lot of pressure school work wise, so my head isn't really in the FanFiction zone at the moment. Sorry for disappointing you, my lovely readers :( Seriously, I'm sorry.


	3. House of Mm-Yeah, No Thanks

Hey, remember when I started this story last November? Heh...yeah, me too. Well, I really liked it, but unfortunate circumstances prevented me from continuing it. So here I am, continuing it! I'm picking up right where I left off, except **we're throwing Eddie in the mix**. And **I went back to edit the first chapter for future events, so if you read this last year, please start over for a refresher** (it's only two short chapters). And we're** just pretending it's the ten of them and that Fabian and Nina aren't dating** yay (I like them better that way...when they're awkwardly flirting, you know). Actually,** nobody in the house is dating anyone.** Woo!

I don't own House of Anubis.

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><p>"Hi," a sheepish Mick tried to smile at Nina, but couldn't. She stood there, frozen. Looking down, she noticed Mick had her sweater in his hand. He followed her gaze, and a little realization zapped back into him. "Oh, yeah! Fabian wanted to bring this to you, but he got a call from his mum, and she's a talker. I said I'd bring it...I was gonna go talk to Mara...apologize," his shoulders slumped. He handed her the sweater. "Here."<p>

"Thanks," Nina said quietly, taking the sweater gently from his hands.

"Well..." Mick shifted his weight from one foot to another. The tension in the room could be cut with a knife.

"I guess we should..." Nina glanced up.

"Yeah," Mick nodded. "Probably..."

"Um," Nina gulped. Mick took a deep breath and leaned in, and Nina met his lips half way.

Surprising to the both of them, the kiss wasn't that bad. Nothing like Nina had with Fabian or Mick had with Amber or Mara, but it wasn't awful. It was almost...nice. When they reached five seconds, neither pulled away. Mick waited another second, seeing Nina wasn't pulling away, and then put his hands onto her hips. She followed his lead and had her arms around his shoulders. As the kiss started to get a bit more serious, Nina came to her senses. She slowly pulled away from Mick, but wore a smile nonetheless.

"I'll...see you later," Nina mumbled, turning quickly to go back to the stairs.

"I hope," Mick blurted out. Nina, a bit taken aback, raised an eyebrow. Mick just turned and hurried back to his room, which Nina took as a sign to scurry back to hers.

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><p>"Good morning everyone," Jerome walked cheerily into the dining room.<p>

"What's got you so chipper?" Patricia looked at him, a mix of curiosity and disgust in her eyes.

"Eddie's coming back from visiting his mum," Jerome explained. "You know what that means, right?"

"Mick and I won't sleep anymore?" Fabian grumbled, stabbing his pancakes with a fork.

"No," Jerome shook his head. "It means another player in our mistletoe games!"

"We have a name for it?" Joy asked, not amused.

"And a scoreboard," Jerome said, holding up a finger as he exited the room. Everyone's eyes rested on the door, and a moment later, Jerome popped back in holding up a small wipeboard. On it were two sections on it, and five subsections in both, a place for each house resident. Jerome made a big display of writing his name on the board in the boy's section. Next, he handed it to Fabian. "Write you name down and put a tally for how many times you've been caught under the mistletoe. Don't lie, because I know. The person with the least kisses gets off chores for a month, and the person with the most takes over the winner's."

"We didn't agree to this!" Mick protested.

"Too late," Jerome shrugged.

"Why should we even play?" Mara asked, angry.

"Because it's the holidays. Get in the spirit, Jaffray! What's the worst that could happen?"

"Someone could end up kissing you," Patricia offered snarkily. Everyone laughed as Jerome glared her down.

"We'll make sure that doesn't happen for you, Trixie," Jerome rolled his eyes.

"How do you know who kissed who?" Nina asked nervously as Fabian passed the board to Mick after he'd written his name and tallied one kiss.

"That's for me to know and everyone to find out on Christmas Eve. That's when this'll all be over."

"Great," Nina huffed, her cheeks red.

Mick scribbled his name down, quickly marking off one tally and passing the board to Joy. She casually scrawled her name, not taking notice to Mick's tally. Patricia got her writing over with quickly, not wanting and teasing to come her way. Next went Alfie, who stared at Mick's tally, back at Mick, back to the tally, and back to Mick. Shrugging, he didn't comment and just wrote his name. Next was Amber, and she wasn't so kind.

"Mick!" Amber gasped.

"What, Ambs?" he asked, knowing what was about to come.

"Who did you kiss?!"

"Just write your name," he glared. She scoffed, but did as told. She handed off the board to Nina who quickly printed her name and dashed a tally, practically throwing the board back at Jerome.

"I see we have some untruthfuls," Jerome smiled. Quickly, he marked down two tallies. The group stared at one another, confused. But Alfie and Joy hung their heads in shame.

"Oh my god," Patricia cackled.

"Shut up," Joy hissed.

"The board will be on my bedroom door. Good luck to all of you," Jerome smirked. Everyone glared at him and decided it was a good time to leave the breakfast table, and they all quickly dispersed to their own bedrooms.

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><p>"But who did Mick kiss?" Amber whined to Nina as they sat on their bedroom floor.<p>

"Don't know," Nina lied, avoiding eye contact.

"Nobody else had tallied on the board except Fabian and Patricia, and they only had one tally," Amber thought back to this morning. "And the only person who hadn't tallied was you, and then Joy and Alfie kissed...but you'd tell me if you kissed...oh my god."

"What?" Nina asked, knowing she was screwed.

"YOU!" Amber shrieked. "YOU KISSED MICK!"

"AMBER!" Nina slapped a hand over the blonde's mouth, the other hand on the back of her head to keep her stationary.

"Mmm mmmmm mmmm!" Amber wriggled furiously under the tight grip, her words inaudible under Nina's hand.

"Amber, quiet!" Nina begged. "I'm going to take my hand off now. Please don't scream?"

Amber nodded, her blue eyes wider than ever. Nina cautiously removed her hand, ready to throw it back at a moment's notice.

"You. Kissed. Mick!" Amber shout-whispered.

"I know," Nina slumped against the bed, burying her face in her hands.

"He's good, isn't he?" Amber took a total swing in moods, suddenly hungry for the details.

"Amber," Nina groaned. "I feel awful about it, don't make me relive it!"

"Why?" Amber prompted.

"I should be kissing Fabian, not Mick!" Nina admitted. "And I shouldn't have enjoyed kissing his best friend!"

"So you do think he's good!" Amber squealed.

"Fabian's better," Nina crossed her arms. "I think..."

"Don't be ashamed," Amber patted Nina's shoulder, putting her serious face on. "Kissing is a wonderful thing, and it's okay to like it from more than one person."

"That's awful, Amber," said Nina.

"Well, if you want to kiss Fabian so badly, go do it!" Amber tried to hype her up.

"Maybe I will," Nina nodded, liking the idea but being scared at the same time. "Yeah! I'll just go kiss him!"

"And then he'll know you're in love with him like he's in love with you and you'll live happily ever after!" Amber continued the hyping, going a bit too far.

"Yeah..." Nina laughed, feeling a bit more confident.

"So go do it!" Amber prompted, standing up and bringing Nina with her.

"I will," Nina stood taller, confidence rushing through her veins. "I'll just kiss him and it'll all be fine."

"There we go!" Amber pushed her out of the room. "Go get him!"

Nina walked with almost a skip in her step as she left the girl's corridor and descended the stairs. As Nina reached the landing, she made sure to quickly go under the mistletoe. As she walked down the boy's corridor, she found Jerome lurking in the hall.

"Nina," he greeted, a glimmer in his eyes. Unbeknownst to Nina, Eddie was about to walk through the door any moment. Jerome chatted Nina up, and no matter how hard she tried to leave, she couldn't. Finally, Eddie opened the door and stopped directly under the mistletoe. Jerome couldn't believe his luck. As he chattered away, he took Nina by the shoulders and pushed her backwards.

"What are you doing?" she asked, rather angry. Jerome just smirked, giving her a tiny push backwards and she stumbled into a confused Eddie.

"Well glad to see you to," he laughed, lifting Nina up from his chest which she'd collapsed into.

"Oh no," she muttered, turning around to face him. Pointing up to the mistletoe, she scrunched up her nose.

"What? It's just-oh jeez," Eddie's eyes grew wide. "We don't have to..."

"Jerome has a game going. We do," Nina sighed. Behind her, Jerome waved his board in their direction.

"Seriously? I'm gone for two weeks and this is what I miss?" said Eddie.

"Unfortunately," Nina sighed.

"Five seconds," Jerome smirked. "On your marks, get set, go!"

Nina and Eddie lightly leaned in, letting their lips only graze on another's. When five seconds was up, they whipped apart.

"Happy?" Nina turned to glare at Jerome.

"Very," he marked a tally for Nina and added Eddie to the list, tallying him as well.

"It's been a pleasure," said Eddie in a well-that-was-weird-but-anyways-where-were-we-in-our-normal-lives sense. "Mind helping me with these bags?"

"Not at all," Nina sighed. A brief kiss with each other was nothing, which neither really understood. Both were so focused on a goal, Nina on Fabian and Eddie on getting some food, that neither really had time to dwell on a meaningless kiss.

Grabbing one of the three bags, Nina led the way to Eddie's room and opened the door for the two of them.

"Thanks Nina," he patted her shoulder after setting his bags down.

"No problem," she reassured him. Quickly, she turned to a surprised looking Fabian and Mick. Nina and Eddie weren't exactly best friends, so this was different to see.

"Welcome back..." Mick raised an eyebrow.

"Thanks," said Eddie, going straight to unpacking.

"You heard about Jerome's game?" Mick asked.

"Just played it," Eddie replied, not diverting his focus from unpacking.

"With?" Fabian and Mick asked in unison, fearing the answer.

"Nina," Eddie threw his thumb over in her direction, and she replied with a blush. Both Mick and Fabian's eyes grew, jealous of the situation.

Nina, suddenly forgetting her previous mission due to embarrassment, announced, "I think I'm gonna go now...bye," and rushed out of the room.

"You kissed Nina?" Fabian asked, a bit incredulous.

"Sorry dude," Eddie stopped his unpacking. "Jerome was standing right there. It was just the five seconds," he shrugged. "Didn't mean anything to me, at least. Did you know she has two tallies? I saw the board when Nina and I walked down the hall."

"Huh?" Fabian asked, taken aback by the sudden topic change. "Who's the other?"

"Dunno," Eddie went back to unpacking. Mick suddenly became fascinated with his shoelaces, and began repeatedly tying and untying them.

"It wasn't me," Fabian frowned.

"Alfie had a tally," Eddie offered.

"He kissed Joy," Fabian shook his head.

"Seriously?" Eddie laughed. "That's gold...wish that was on camera! Wait...I thought you had a tally?"

"I kissed Patricia," Fabian said quietly.

"What?" Eddie tensed up a bit.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"I don't care," Eddie scoffed, obviously lying.

"The only one left is you," Fabian looked at Mick.

"Huh?" Mick looked up, acting innocent.

"Do you have a tally?"

"Uh..." Mick looked down. "Sorry, mate..."

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><p>"I still can't believe YOU kissed Alfie!" Patricia laughed as she and Joy sat on Patricia's bed. Mara sat on her own, reading with earphones in.<p>

"Well you kissed FABIAN! For almost half a minute! And you were like, full on snogging!" Joy retorted angrily.

"Was your kiss maaagical?" Patricia drawled teasingly.

"It tasted like banana nut muffins and was weird and blah," Joy shivered at the recollection.

"Gross," Patricia laughed.

"But seriously. You snogged Fabian," Joy prodded.

"Shut up," Patricia rolled her eyes, secretly embarrassed. When they were in sixth, seventh, and eighth year, Patricia had a thing for Fabian. She'd long gotten over it, but kissing him just brought a few butterflies to her stomach. But, the butterflies couldn't quite compete with her feelings for Eddie...that nobody really knew about, but oh well.

"So," Joy decided to, for Patricia's sake, change the topic. "Who do you think Mick kissed?"

"I saw the board," said Patricia. "It was Nina."

"Seriously?" Joy gasped. "Poor Fabes..."

"I know," Patricia sighed. Little did either of them know, Mara had tuned into the conversation. Neither noticed the deep frown etched on their friend's face.

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><p>"Dude, isn't this taking it a bit too far?" Alfie asked, holding the latter for Jerome.<p>

"Absolutely not," Jerome tsked. "This is just...making things a bit more exciting."

"Okay..." Alfie sighed. He was helping Jerome in his newest task: hanging mistletoes all over the house rather than just the entry way. By the time they finished, there were mistletoes over every doorway but Victor's office and Trudy's room, over the couches, in the laundry room, in the kitchen, and even the bathroom (Mick and Mara were known for using that locked room on occasion, so some other couple probably would as well).

"This is going to be great," Jerome folded his arms, a victorious smile spread across his face. "Just great."

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><p><strong>AN:** Well...there you go. Reviews are appreciated but not required.

If you have any couples you want to end up under the mistletoe together, feel free to suggest and I'll consider it :)


	4. House of Mild Concussions

So my goal is to update three-four times today. It's 11:06 AM on Christmas Eve as I'm starting this chapter. Let's see where this goes, shall we?

I don't own House of Anubis.

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><p>"JEROME CLARKE," Amber shrieked. Her small fist was pounding on his bedroom door, the hour only six on a previously quiet Sunday morning. "YOU GET OUT HERE RIGHT NOW!"<p>

"Is nothing sacred?" an exhausted Jerome opened the door, rubbing his eyes.

Alfie pulled the covers over his head, hiding from the vicious monster that was Amber awake before eight thirty. Eddie, Fabian, and Mick carefully filed into the hall one by one to watch the show, curiosity and fear evident in their eyes.

"WHY IS THERE A MISTLETOE AT EVERY DOORWAY IN ANUBIS HOUSE?" Amber demanded.

"I...wanted to make the game a bit more...interesting?" Jerome offered weakly, suddenly wide awake. Amber backhanded him square in the chest, and he cringed back. Her bite was far worse than her bark, if that was even possible.

"I NEARLY KISSED JOY THIS MORNING!"

"Nearly?" Jerome whined.

"She saw it just in time," Amber calmed a bit, but not by much.

"Damn it," Jerome mumbled under his breath.

"This is too far, Jerome!" Amber stomped her foot.

"It's just raising everyone's awareness," Jerome shrugged.

"Hey Clarke," Mick called down the hall, trying to suppress a grin. "Raise your awareness, mate."

"Huh?" Jerome gave him a puzzled look, but it dawned upon him. He and Amber simultaneously glanced up, horror pouring into their expressions.

"Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss!" Mick and Eddie chanted like children while Fabian had a hand over his mouth trying to cover a smile. An angered Alfie emerged from his bed to glare at Jerome with crossed arms.

"No!" Amber protested.

"Have to," Mick laughed. "It's the rules."

"Five seconds," she pointed a finger at Jerome, livid. "Nothing more."

"Absolutely. Nothing more," he agreed, his nose wrinkling up.

"Nothing more," repeated Alfie disapprovingly.

"And, KISS!" Eddie called. Quickly, they leaned in, their lips just barely grazing each others. Laughter erupted in the hall.

"One," said Mick.

"Two," said Eddie.

"Three," said Fabian.

"Four," said Alfie.

"Five," they said together. Jerome and Amber pulled apart as quickly as they'd come together. Jerome began to rub his lips with the back of his hand, as if 'wiping off the Amber'.

"If you'll excuse me," said Amber, disgruntled as she walked to Mick, Eddie, and Fabian's door, "I need to get the Jerome off of me," she stood in front of the door, eyeing the three boys who stood frozen. Amber decided on Mick, seeing this would be nothing new for either of them. She kissed him for about eight seconds, then pulled apart. She whipped around to face Jerome, "Two tallies for me, one for Mick. Enjoy your game."

"Mhm," Jerome nodded. Amber, Mick, and Nina now held first place with two each.

"What is all this ruckus?" Victor stormed to the boys corridor, appearing from seemingly nowhere.

"Some good, homemade fun," Eddie grinned.

"Make it a bit more quiet, or you'll all be grounded," Victor sneered, hobbling back up the stairs. Amber gave Jerome one last glare, then followed Victor's lead and headed for the stairs.

* * *

><p>"So you just kissed Mick?" Joy laughed as Amber recounted the tale of her journey to the boy's corridor.<p>

"Nothing unfamiliar," she shrugged. "I needed to get rid of the Jerome taste."

"What'd that taste like? Evil?" Patricia asked.

"Morning breath," Amber wrinkled her nose in disgust. "He has potential...but it's _Jerome_."

"Good to know, right Mara?" Joy nudged their quiet friend.

"Huh?" Mara acted confused.

"What?" Amber's eyes grew, incredulous.

"Nothing," Mara glared at Joy.

"Awh, come on! You're among friends," Patricia teased, motioning around their room where all five Anubis girls sat. Mara shook her head, evidently embarrassed.

"Fine," Joy rolled her eyes. "Mara fancies Jerome!"

"What?" Amber tried not to laugh. "_Jerome?_"

"You like Alfie," Nina countered, coming to Mara's rescue.

"No," Amber scoffed.

"You sure about that?" Nina waggled her eyebrows. All attention towards Mara was completely diverted to a blush-suppressing Amber.

"Positive," she reassured them. They went on to talk about the holiday party at school that was to happen the coming Friday night. The dress code was formal, and this implied dates for all.

"Did you hear Amelia Pinches already had a date?" Joy gossiped.

"Oh my gosh, who?"

"That new kid...plays ping pong, I think? He's pretty cute," Joy shrugged.

"Giles?" Nina asked.

"He's in the year above us," Joy continued. "I hear he_ really_ fancies Amelia...but she still fancies Alfie."

"Still?" Mara laughed.

"Still," Joy confirmed. They continued their gossiping, most of it supplied by Joy, until Patricia announced she was hungry for breakfast.

"It's Sunday. Trudy won't be up until eight," Nina looked at her watch. "It's six forty three."

"I'll grab us some apples?" Joy offered, already standing up and putting her sweater on.

"And peanut butter," Mara added. Apple slices and peanut butter were arguably the favorite (healthy) snack in the house.

"Apple slices and peanut butter it is," Joy smiled, exiting the room.

* * *

><p>"So, this holiday party..." Eddie started as he and Mick tossed a football back and forth, listening to Fabian strum his guitar. "Is it like a...suit-and-tie, BYOD sort of thing?"<p>

"BYOD?" Mick stopped the toss, giving his roommate a peculiar look. Fabian ceased strumming and matched Mick's expression towards Eddie.

"BYOD...Bring Your Own Date...sort of like BYOB..." Eddie explained. Seeing the still confused look plastered to his roommates' faces, he explained the definition of BYOB.

"Well, it's obviously not required, but most people do once you reach ninth year," Mick answered the previous question.

"Oh," was all Eddie said.

"Why?" Mick's lips twisted to a sly grin. "Anyone in mind?"

"No," Eddie denied such a thought. Of course, it wasn't true. "What about you?"

"No," Mick's face fell. He'd been looking forward to taking Mara, but that of course wasn't an option now. He'd been considering asking Amber, she'd probably say yes to him over Alfie.

"Really?" Fabian piped up. "What about Amber?"

"Maybe," Mick shrugged. "Dunno."

"Or Joy," Eddie offered.

"Eh," said Mick.

"Patricia?" Fabian hoped this would make him laugh. Thankfully, it did.

"I'll pass, mate," Mick grinned. Eddie had tensed a bit at the suggestion.

"Let's see...other eligible bachelorettes..." Eddie stroked his chin as if there were a beard there. "Hm...Nina?"

"No," Fabian argued quickly. Mick couldn't help but laugh at his best mate, the lovesick puppy.

"And why would that be?" Eddie snickered. His payback worked.

"So when are you going to ask Patricia?" Fabian changed the topic.

"Why would I?" Eddie scoffed.

"You fancy her," said Mick, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Which it sort of was.

"Ew," Eddie gagged.

"You do!" Mick laughed.

"Well Fabian likes Nina!" Eddie accused, pointing in the guitar player's direction. Fabian's face flushed as if it was a secret.

"Well..." Fabian spluttered.

"Uh...yeah...well..." Mick mocked him.

"Exactly," Eddie grinned at his success of hushing the both of his roommates. "Now if you'll excuse me boys, I'm off for breakfast."

"Okay," Fabian mumbled. Eddie walked over the kitchen to find Joy feverishly chopping apples in nothing more than an undershirt and flimsy pajama pants. Her hair was up in a messy bun and, from the looks of it, her sweater had been _thrown_ to the floor.

"You okay there?" Eddie laughed at the sight.

"Huh?" Joy jumped and took a sharp breath in, letting the knife clatter to the counter.

"Need some help?" he offered, taking the knife himself.

"No," Joy protested, trying to take it back.

"You'll never get them cut at this rate," he laughed, motioning to the one butchered and four intact apples on the counter.

"I can't find where Trudes put the apple slicer," Joy's shoulders slumped.

"Did you check the dishwasher?" he bent down to open it. There, sitting alone on the top rack, was the apple cutter.

"Oh," Joy blushed. "Forgot to look there, I guess."

"Course ya did," Eddie smirked. He grabbed in and nudged her aside. "Now, let a pro show you how it's done."

"I'm perfectly capable of cutting apples!" Joy crossed her arms.

"Sure, champ," he held up her first attempt.

"Well I can do it with the cutter!" Joy groaned.

"Only if you _have_ the cutter," Eddie dangled it in front of her face. As she went to snatch it, he swiftly drew back his hand and dangled it farther behind him.

"Eddie!"

"Have to get it," Eddie laughed, stepping backwards. His feet landed on the back of her sweater that lay near the door.

"I. Will," Joy huffed, lunging towards him. She grasped the other handle of the apple cutter. With a proud smile, her grasp held as her feet landed on the other side of the sweater. Only, this wasn't a smooth landing. Her toes slid back, and as Eddie was in mid-step, the sweater slipped from under them.

Eddie fell to the floor with an _OOMPH!_, Joy right on top of him.

"Oh my god!" Joy panicked, rolling off of him and lifting his head up. "Are you okay?"

"You're lucky you don't weigh a lot," Eddie muttered, propping himself up with his elbows.

"Is your head okay?"

"Not really."

"Want me to kiss it?" Joy joked.

"I don't think you really have a choice at this point," he looked up.

"I don't, do I?" Joy sighed.

"Don't enjoy yourself too much," Eddie tried to seem nonchalant. Joy rolled her eyes, quickly going in for the kill.

Overall, it was nice. A solid seven seconds, not too much shifting, just a plain lip-lock that wasn't unpleasant like Joy's kiss with Alfie.

"Back to reality," Joy said when they pulled apart. "How about you trade me that apple cutter for an ice pack?"

"Sounds good," Eddie handed it over. Joy helped him up so he was leaning against the counter, wincing at any movements he accidentally made. She tended to him well, even holding the ice pack to his head for a few minutes before she brought him to his room.

"What happened?" Fabian stood up as Joy let Eddie walk into the room, following after he was completely out of the doorway.

"We had a spill...the floor cushioned the fall," she sighed.

"Jeez," said Mick.

"I'll live," Eddie rolled his eyes, sitting on his bed by the window. "Thanks Joy."

"No problem," she smiled. Then, she turned to Fabian. "I expect you to help him change his ice pack and make sure he takes pain medication before Trudy wakes up."

"Sure," Fabian nodded. With that, Joy left to cut her apples, tally for her and Eddie, then return upstairs.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Wow that sucked I'm sorry bye.


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